flooding

Gov. Quinn Asks For Federal Help In Flood Recovery

Illinois Public Radio — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:03:07 +0000

Reporting by Chris Slaby of WUIS.

Governor Pat Quinn has asked for federal help in the recovery after this spring’s flooding.

Quinn says the application is for 11 counties, mostly located in the northern part of the state.
He says with more than 3,000 homes affected in those counties alone, there’s more than enough evidence for the president to approve his request.

No Relief For Swollen Rivers With Four Inches Of Rain Forecast For The Weekend

Chris McDaniel — Fri, 03 May 2013 22:01:29 +0000

A storm system that's dropping snow on the western half of the state will bring up to four inches of rain to the St. Louis area by Sunday.

But don't expect much in the way of flash flooding, says National Weather Service hydrologist Mark Fuchs.

"We're not necessarily expecting flash flooding in the classic sense - where you see a very quick rising water coming down the stream," Fuchs said. "But with that being said, there will be some roads in poor drainage areas that could go underwater."

Runaway Barges Cause Oil Spill

Adam Allington — Fri, 03 May 2013 21:52:00 +0000

The Coast Guard is assessing the environmental impact of roughly 300 gallons of crude oil it says spilled into the Mississippi River after more than a dozen barges briefly broke free near Alton, Ill.

The Coast Guard says a vessel hit an area where barges are docked on the river about 1 a.m. this morning, causing 14 to break away from their moorings. Those barges then hit another barge loading crude oil, which caused the spill of about seven barrels (300gallons) worth of oil.

St. Louis Pump Failure Sending Sewage Into Flooded Mississippi River

Rachel Lippmann — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:00:00 +0000

Updated April 29, 7:30 p.m.

With the Mississippi River below 33 feet, MSD says it no longer has to use the pumps, and the flow of untreated wastewater into the river has stopped. The temporary pumps will remain in place.

Updated April 29, 4 p.m.

MSD officials say that with the Mississippi River dropping, the flow of untreated sewage has slowed to 16 million gallons a day. Crews continue to work on installing two temporary pumps to replace the ones that failed. The cause of the failure is still under investigation.

Mississippi River Communities Brace For Flooding

Maria Altman — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:34:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now here's a change. Earlier this year, the worst drought conditions seen in the Midwest in decades threatened to close the Mississippi River to barge traffic. Now, communities along the river in Missouri and Illinois are bracing for flooding.

St. Louis Public Radio Maria Altman reports.

MARIA ALTMAN, BYLINE: The threat of flooding on the Mississippi River came on quickly after last week's storms dumped rain across the Midwest.